Textile spindle



www F-.zf-.Eg--MUELLER-YET'AL v TEXTILE SPINDLE Filed April 9,' 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Gearye j? Zai? a5 l wu elw au F. E. MUELLR ET AL June 30,v 1925-.

TEXTILE SPINDLE Filed ApzjilS, 1920 2 Sheets-TSheet 2 G'earyeli' 50i? fyf( Rouw/13 Patented June 30, 1925.

,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK E. MUELLER AND R. BOTT, 0F NEW YORK, N. yY., ASSIGNORS T0 NORMA-HOFFMAN BEARINGS CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, NUI., A CORPORA- TION 0F NEW YORK.

TEXTILE SPINDLE.

Application llled April 9, 1920. Serial N0. 372,400.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that R-we, FREDERICK E.

MUnLLnR and GEORGE R. Borr, citizens ofl the United States, and residents of the city of New York, in the county and- State of New York,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Textile Spindles, of which the following is a description.

The present invention relates to spindles, and comprehends in its generic aspect certain im rovements in silk and cotton'spinnin spindles of that general type commonly known in the art as self-centering spindles, whereby a mechanically, practical and commercially efficient spindle will be produced. In spindles of the class above mentioned, in case an unbalanced load is imposed upon the spindle, or, if the latter should contain slight mechanical imperfections, owing to the fact that the loadis located above the driving band, an oscillatory or gyratory motion is set up around the normal center of gravity. It is primarily due to the lateral movement of the spindle whirl and its bolster, when operating at high speeds, that the small ball bearings with which such spindles have heretofore been equipped, fail to meet service requirements in a satisfactory manner.

Therefore, the leading object and purpose of our invention is to provide an improved spindle construction and mounting of the self-centering type, and in combination therewith, an improved -ball bearing support for the spindle Whirl in which the balls are of adequate size, whereby the bearing will reliably and efficiently withstand severe duty. It has beenV successfully demonstrated in practice, that by reason of the improvements hereinafter described, an increased, uniform spindle speed may be maintained and with a minimum of friction even when operating at a maximum speed, thus resulting not only in an increased output but also in a better quality of yarn, in comparison with the production of the several types of spinning spindles now in general use.

In eliminating-the above noted objection to such spindles, as heretofore constructed, we have provided a novel,l as well as simple and compact arrangement of the several elements in combination with each other, and have thereby attained a maximum operating efficiency, and at the same time have produced a spindle construction which will result in appreciable economy in maintenance cost. It 1s likewise an important object of the inventionJ to provide a spindle as abovev characterized, which will result in a material reduction 1n power costs by the elimination of excessive friction, the several parts of which are of relatively simple form, may be ea'slly and quickly removed or replaced, not liable to get out of order when operatively assembled, and are capable of quantity production at comparatively small developed in the following description and p subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein we have illustrated several practical embodiments of our invention and in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a silk spinning spindle illustrating one embodiment of our invention;

Figure 2 is a similar view of a slightly modified form of the device;

Figure 3' is a horizontal section taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view similarto Fig. 1 showin another form of 'the cottom spinning spindle;

Figure 5 isa section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the bolster support shown in Figure 4.

It has been proposed by those familiar with the necessities arising in the operation and maintenance of Spinnin spindles, tp providesuch spindles with ball bearings. Numerous attempts have been made to provide a practical and eiicient arrangement of bearingsl for such spindles, but in view of the small size of the spindle whirl, the bearing balls of necessity have been limited in size and were therefore incapable of withstanding the severe duty to which such spindles are subjected. It was impossible to maintain a uniform spindle speed or to operment about the normal center of gravity, and therefore' the small bearing balls as heretofore used would trackin different circumferential .paths whereby the speed possibilities would be reduced and vibration accompanied with unequal wear upon the bearings would result. Accordingly, such spindle bearings have proved to be entirelyimpractical.

IVe aim, by means of our ypresent 11nprovements, to obviate the deticiencies of prior spindles as above referred to and 1n Figure l of the. drawings we have disclosed one embodiment of ourl invention as applied to a silk spinning spindle.

In this figure, 5 designates the spindle supporting rail having au opening to receive the shank'? of a socket member 6. This bolster is formed with a chamber 8 vto receive. a suitable lubricating oil, said bolster being provided with a tubular upstanding portion 9 and a port or opening 10 affording communication between said tubular portion'and the cham ber 8. A piece of absorbent material 11 is arranged in the lower end of the bore ot the tubular portion 9 lover the port 10 and serves to prevent liooding of the. chamber 8 or the entrance of foreign 'matter into said chamber. The up er'end of the tube 9 is closed by a removal leplug 12.

The socket member 6 .is formed with a i Vbore or socket 13 extending axially into the shank 7. This socket. receives the Alo'w'er end of the s indle bolster 14. said supportl being forme with a diametrically enlarged portion or flange 15 which rests upon the base wall of the chamber 8 and limits the movement of the support into thesocket 13. The bolster 14 is loosely mounted in the socket member and may rotate with respectl thereto.

A sleeve whirl 16 surrounds the support 14 and at its upper-tandis reduced as-at 17 and fixed to the lower end of the spindle 18. The inner diameter of the sleeve wall 16 is appreciably greater than the diameter of the support 14. The lower end of the whirl is formed with Van outwardly projecting ilange-19 and extends downwardly into the chamber 8. y Y

Ball bearings, generally designated vby the numerals 20 and 21 respectively, are

interposed between the lower and upper ends balls 26. 'lhe flanges 28 thus normally retain the bearing balls at. theii axes of rotation and guide the balls in their path.

Various other types of ball bearings may, however, be employed. The inner 'bearing ring of the lower bearing 20 is seated upon the flange 1li-and suitably lixed to the support while the corresponding ring of the upper bearing 21 is engaged upon an annular shoulder formed upon the support and also fixed thereto. The outer bearing rings are suitably secured to the wall of the whir116. Preferably, nuts 22 are threaded upon the support and engage the inner race rings to retain the latter in position. A sleeve 16 is arranged within. the whirl 16, and lits snugly against the wall thereof. The op-l posite ends of this sleeve abut against the outer race rings 23 of the respective'ballbearing units 20 and 21. y,

Thev support 14 is formed with an axial bore 31 which opens upon the upper end face thereof and extends downwardly below the flange 15. A plurality of transverse openings 32 are formed through this flange and afford con'nnunication between the bore 31 of the support and the chamber '8. Within the bore 31, an absorbent wick33 is dispose-d and at its upper end is loosened or unraveled so that the lubricating oil which is drawn upwardly through the absorbent wick by capillary action, will be distributed radially upon all parts of the upper bearing 21. It will be noted that the upper end ot the wick 33 is engaged against the lower end face of the spindle 18 so that in the rotation of the. spindle, by the action of centrifugal force, the oil is radially distributed upon the parts of the bearing 21. This centrifugal force in connection with the capillary action subserves the function of a pump acting to continuously ydraw the lubricant upward from the chamber 8. The excess oil will then flow downwardly and upon the elements of the lower bearing 20 whereby the latter will likewise be thoroughly lubricated. Such oil as is not consumed will drip back into the chamber 8. In order tu prevent the violent agitation of the oil in this chamber upon rotation of the whirl 16 ,1

we have provided a battle plate- 34 arranged in the chamber between the base wallthereof and the lower end of the whirl. This plate is of sheet metal and at its perimeter is formed with a plurality of downwardly projecting lugs 35 struck from the plate which serve -to support the baille plate in its proper position. The central opening 36 in said plate is of somewhat greater diameter than the diameter of the flange 15 so that the oil dripping fromthe bearing 20 may have free passage into the chamber and the ports 32 which communicate therewith. In this manner, it will be seen that a continuous. circulation of lubricating oil is llO .tains the lower ball bearing 20.

maintained between the chamber 8 and the upper and lower sets of ball bearingswhich rotatably support the whirl upon the sup-v d t e port 14. In order to yieldingly hol spindle in normal perpendicular position, an expansion spring 37 is disposed around the shank 7 of the bolster 6 and bears at its upper end against a washer plate 38 which has sliding engagement with the under side of the rail 5. A nut 39 is threaded Upon the lower end of the shank 7 and the other end of the spring 37 is seated against the washer plate 40 which loosely surrounds said shank. By adjusting the nut 39, it will be readily seen that the tension of the spring 37 may be regulatedas desired. It will be understood that the provision of this spring 37 constitutes no part of the present invention, as itis well known in the art and commonly used inl connection with silk spinning spindles.

In Figure 2 of the drawings we have shown a slightly different form of thesleeve whirl which surounds the support 14. In this instance, the medial portion of the whirl which is engaged by the driving band is reduced in diameter as at 4l so thatv its inner surface is but slightlyspaced from the periphery of the support. At its upper end, the whirl is formed with a diametrically enlarged portion 42 -in which a spindle base 43 is fixed. The upper ball bearing 21 is also arranged in this enlarged'portion of the spindle whirl and bears the same relation to the support as in the construction above described.

The spindle whirl as shown in Figure 2 is further provided with a diametrically enlarged lower end 44 which extends into the lubricant receiving chamber 45 of the bolster whichA is mounted in the supporting rail. This enlarged lower end of the Whirl con- It will thus be seen that by such construction, a whirl of relatively small diameter is obtained while at the same time the two sets of bearings arranged respectively above and below the whirl center, in this embodiment, have bearing balls and races of relatively large diameter. In this case also there is a continuous circulation of lubricating oil maintained between the lubricant containing chamber of the two sets of bearings as in the construction shown in Figure 1. It will, of course, be appare-nt that the spindle whirl might also be made in various other diameters between the two extremes shown in Figures 1 and 2.

As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, instead of mounting the bolster in a continuous rail, it may be arranged in an opening provided in one end of a bracket member 46, the other end of the bracket being pivotally mounted upon the' upper end of a supporting strut 47 which is secured rigidly to therail. The pivotal or turning movement of the bracket isyieldingly retarded or cushioned by a spring 49 surrounding the standard 47 and having one of its ends fixed to the rail, while the other end of said spring is secured to the bracket 46. In vFigure ,2' we have shown the support 14 extending entirely through the shank of the bolster and l tightly secured in place by a nut 14 threaded bracket 46, said socket member having a.

relatively short shank 66 provided with the bore 67 as in the construction shown in Figure 1. In this case, the bolster 68 has a shoulder 69 rest-ing upon the upper end of the supporting member 70. This member is formed with spaced vertical legs 71, the

lower ends of which are laterally extended as at 72 and fixed to the annular flange 73 formed upon the wall of' the lubricant re' ceiving chamber 74. In spaced relation to the lower end of the bolster, said bolster is provided with a collar 75 having equidistantly spaced peripheral recesses 76through which the legs 71 loosely extend. The inner bearing ring 77 of the lower ball bearing arranged within the base vportion ofthe whirl 78 is fixed upon the periphery of this collar and clo-ses the outer sides of the -recesses 76 therein. In this case the whirl 78 is similar in its general form and construction to the whirl shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the upper ball bearing 79 being disposed within the enlarged upper end of said whirl.

In this casev also theubolster 68 is axially .g

bored to receive the lubricant absorbent Wick 80 and the lower end of said bolster which extends into the bore 67 of the socket member 65, is provided with the transverse opening 81.into which the lower end of the wlck extends. Thus, it will be seen that the lubricant is fed into the chamber 74 and the bore 67 and is carried upwardly by the wick and distributed in the manner heretofore described to the upper ball bearing 79 from which it gravitates downwardly upon, the parts of the lower ball .bearing and hence back into the chamber 74.

We have found that the tendency of the balls to shift upon the track 'surfaces and to therefore track in different circumferential paths, may be effectively counteracted by the provision of the cage 27 having the side fianges 28. These side flanges by their holding action upon the several balls at their axes of rotation, cause all of the balls to move in unison. By thc provision of a bearing of this construction, we are enabled to use bearing balls .which are of comparatively large size, the' enlarged portions of the spindle whirl affording ample space witlnn which such large bearings may bc properly mounted and arranged. I-Ieretofore, bearings having balls of very small size have been used, but such'bearings have beenfound impracticable as they are incapable of successfully withstanding thc severe duty to which ball bearings used in this connection are'nccessarily subjected. In other words, they do not. aiford a sutliciently extensive bearing surface to properly' support the s indle whirl, and 'soon lose their anti-frictlonal qualities, when it is attempted to operate the spindle at the higher speeds.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with thc accompanying drawings, the several illustrated and described embodiments of the invention will be readily understood. In actual practice, it has been found possible to operate a 'spindle equipped with our improvements particularly as dis- Y closed in Figure 1, at a very high speed.

It will thus be seen thatour present improvements will materially increase the output of each spindle and in view of the fact that an absolute uniformity in speed i-s maintained, the quality of the product will also be appreciably enhanced. It is also to be noted, that in any one of the several constructions to which we have herein referred, the various parts can be easily and quickly assembled or disassembled and replaced by new parts when necessary. a

In the preceding description and the ac'- companying drawings we have disclosed several practical embodiments of the inven,

tion, which, however, may likewise be exits between said whirl and bolster, an annular l battle plate situated in said lubricant chamber having its inner edge spaced from the` bolster and outer edge spaced from the 'side walls of thesockct, and means for supporting -said battle plate above the bottom of the socket.

2. A spindle, a bolster, a socket therefor, a sleeve whirl surrounding said bolster and having dan'ietrically enlarged portions above and below the driving band, ball bear- 4 ings arranged within said enlarged portions of said whirl, said socket having a lubricant receiving chamber, means for automatically maintaining a'con'tinuous circulation of the lubricant between said chamber and the two bearings, an annular baftlearranged in said chamber to prevent agitation of the lubricant having its inner edge spaced from the bolster and outer edge spaced from the side walls of the socket, and means for supporting said baffle plate above the bottom of the socket.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we have signed our names.

FREDERICK E. MUELLER. GEORGE R. BOT'I. 

